How do people rate Bintel eyepieces?

[Pete53 (Peter)]

Hi everyone,

New to forum. Just bought a Bintel 10 inch Dob after having a passing interest for years. How do people rate the Bintel Plossel eyepieces? I have a 9, 15 and 30mm. How does that set me up for looking at Planets, esp Jupiter? What about deeper sky stuff also?

What advice do people have if I wanted to upgrade in quality from here?

Pete

[Pete53 (Peter)]

Hi all,

New to forum. Just bought a Bintel 10 inch Dob with 3 std EP. Got a 9,15 (1.25) and 2 inch 30mm.

How do people rate these EP? Should I upgrade and if so what's best. Like looking at planets, moon and some deep sky stuff.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Pete

[dannat (Daniel)]

The longer f/lengths are fine.i have a pair if 15 for binoviewingand they're ok, its below 15 the eye relief becomes too tight & it feels like you're peeping thru a pin hole.
If it were me I'd look for a 7-9mm ep,
Cheaper option BST explorer 8mm at telescopesastromomy in SA-60deg & comfortable er
Explore scientific have 6.7 & 8.8 wider field 82 deg less comfortable-tighter er
Vixen lvw 8mm
ES 9mm 100deg
Etc

[glend (Glen)]

The Bintel dobs are rebadged GSO dobs and so are the EPs. They are just adequate to get started but wider field of view EPs are very helpful to people just starting out. The GSO Superviews are well regarded for the price. You don't have to spend more than your scope cost to buy things like Televue EPs, be wary of price petentiousness.

I have a couple of the 82 degree Explore Scientific and they are very nice.

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Hi Pete
Welcome to IIS
By the way, good choice on the 10" DOB. Nice scope !

Lets start by saying ...Bintel sell quality equipment.
However, they sell both good starting equipment for budget minded
and they sell extra good equipment for the more affluent.

So your eyepieces are certainly good (but for investments from around $350 to $1000 (each) you can get best).

Some say the increase costs are not proportional to the improvement in view.
Others disagree

For starters, I am confident that the eps you have will be good quality plossls.
Before spending any more I suggest you get along to an observing session and talk to others and try some to see how they perform in your scope.
(Have a look in the star parties forum to see if any are near to you).

The 9mm will be best for planetary details.
The 30mm will be best for most larger Deep Sky Objects (DSOs)

So my advice is hold off for a while and get the most from what you have now.

[Pete53 (Peter)]

Thanks for the advice.

Pete

[Pete53 (Peter)]

Thanks guys.

Pete

[Pete53 (Peter)]

Hi Allan,

Thanks for the advice. I am going to join the Macarthur society. Since I bought the scope it's been cloudy so haven't used it yet apart form the set up stuff.

Pete

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Pete

Welcome to IIS!!
Alan's advice is the one I would have posted. Particularly about holding off and getting the best from what you have. You will find that the 30mm will be used the most, probably 80-90% of the time with the 15mm most of the rest. The 9mm will mostly stay in your tackle case. Still get it out especially if the night is really good and steady.
The various EPs are a serious question and contention among observers. I am unashamedly a Televue fan and I believe for a serious observer, getting top notch EPs is absolutely a necessity.
Having said that it takes knowledge and experience to fully understand how and why the various EPs vary and the benefits they bring. Take your time, try to get to observing session and try out some various EPs and decide which way to go.

Cheers

Malcolm

[Pete53 (Peter)]

Thanks Malcolm, sound advice

Peter

[bigjoe (JOSEPH)]

Pete, HNY.

FIRST BINTEL are the best astro people I've ever dealt with.
Esp regarding warranties.

Ive been observing etc for many years and the BINTEL gso 9mm plossel IS one of the most
underrated eps Ive ever used. It even equalled a shootout with some very big name eps.
So dont be suckerpunched into thinking you need to pay more.
You dont.
Even the 30mm superview is very good.

Yes I have and can afford and use Naglers and delos's etc. However I still use Bintel eps.
ES 6.7 and 24 ,Vixen 22 , Pentax xfs are excellent also, but you can save your pennies till later.
Cheers Bigjoe.

[Pete53 (Peter)]

thanks Joe. I have been getting great advice from everyone and appreciate it.

Pete

[louie_the_fly (Stew)]

I bought a 2 inch 30mm super view from bintel. I think it's great value for money. I might buy a 42mm one soon.

[Marios (Marios)]

Going from a SW to a GSO scope the standard eyepieces that came with GSO were multicoated and actually gave descent views of Jupiter bans. The eyepieces that came with the SW had no coatings looked like a bottom of a glass coke bottom and gave a image of just a bright sphere when looking at Jupiter.

[Wavytone]

Pete,

+1 regarding Bintel, excellent advice and service, always.

I'm guessing the focal ratio of your dob is around f/4.5 or perhaps 5. 30mm is about the longest sensible eyepiece focal length for that. The set you have are fine and on most nights 9mm will give the highest useful magnification the seeing allows.

On a very rare night - maybe once or twice a year - you'll get seeing so steady you could use something around 5mm on the moon or planets but it's questionable as to whether it's worth having one if you hardly ever use it. Tracking will also be difficult.

A good choice of eyepiece also depends on your scope - those that work well in a fast Newtonian are probably not ideal in a SCT, refractor or Mak. The converse is also true. There is no perfect eyepiece for all scopes.

For a budget set, plossls should work very well, keep them as it's always good to have a set that aren't too "precious".

Go to some star parties and try other peoples eyepieces in your scope before deciding to buy expensive ones; in particular learn what you like/dislike most - ultrawide field of view vs sharpness, image quality off-axis, eye relief, or detail and contrast on the planets. Each type of eyepiece has pros and cons. Some here have sets that cost upwards of $500 per eyepiece, so yes it can become an expensive addiction !

[David Niven (David Niven)]

Welcome Pete!
You will get a lot of useful advice on IIS.
The 10" dob is a good scope, value wise, to start with.
My favorite ep are the Pentax XF8.5, the ES 6.7 and 24mm.
Also, I find the TMB 6mm is excellent for planetary.
Best to take it slow and get to know your scope a bit better before spending monies on eyepieces.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

I have 2x 32mm Bintel plossls that I use for bino viewing and at $29 a pop I cant fault them , they a very good eyepieces in their own right as well .
Brian.

[Pete53 (Peter)]

hi all, thanks to all those who have given advice and comments. Very helpful, thanks to all

[David Niven (David Niven)]

Hi Pete,
Just came across, VTI has heavily discounted the WO Swan 9, 20mm 72D.
They are great for planetary and even cheaper than the TMB clones!

[Pete53 (Peter)]

Thanks to all